There comes a time for every generation when people must stop thinking about what they say, and start saying what they think.

There comes a time when people stop questioning how to win the race, and begin to ask questions about the race itself.

There comes a time when we have to stop asking how we become the best, and start thinking about what we want to be best at.

When politicians and public figures rely on accepted arguments that wouldn’t stand up to the simple questions we aren’t asking,
When the media are more concerned with the phrase you used than the argument you were trying to make,
When you find yourself panicking at the end of the debate because all you’ve got left is ‘because it’s just like that, okay?’ and an unsettled feeling,

Then you know the time has come.

The Scarlett Nation exists as an alternative, an antidote to a society that dictates how things are as opposed to asking how they should be. And like all utopias, the Scarlett Nation exists only in the mind.

It doesn’t matter whether your ideal immigration plan isn’t economically feasible, or your planned education reform would be politically sensitive, or your state media company wouldn’t be commercially viable – all things are possible in the Scarlett Nation.

Ideas have value. If we don’t know what we want ideally we cannot aim to get as close as possible in actuality. If we don’t know why we do things in a certain way, we don’t know when things have to change. If we don’t enjoy the discussion of thoughts, then there is nothing else left. Ideas built the Scarlett Nation and in ideas is where it stays, and all thoughts are welcome here.

Every person in the Scarlett Nation has an equal right to speak, an equally valid opinion to express. You may disagree with it. You may think it immoral, incorrect and uncomfortable. You may say as much. We encourage you to say as much. There is no greater power in debate than the power to disagree effectively. But remember:

That person saying something so contradictory to what you think and feel and know, the person demanding we change what was previously obvious or discrediting what you previously thought sacred –

That was the first person to suggest that women were equal to men.
The first abolitionist.
The first gay rights campaigner.
The first champions of the Welfare State.
That could be you, the next time you want to speak.

There is no need to insult the speaker – their argument is fair game, they themselves are not.
There is no benefit to convincing others to believe in YOU rather than what you’re saying.
There is no credit in simply saying an argument is wrong if you can’t say why.

And there’s a great deal to be said for anyone who stops at that, wonders why they can’t explain themselves, and then asks if they even believe their own argument.

This is a place where you can express, explore, develop and defend any argument you hold dear. It’s a place where the aim is not to convince the most people, or have the most personal success, but to find the right answer. It is a place where it’s a step forward if you discover something new and change your mind, not a step back. It is a place where no one will tell you that ‘when you grow up’, ‘when you get in the real world’ or ‘when you’re in my position’ that you will think differently. Where there is no need to pin it on a current event, or market it to a certain demographic, or link it to someone else who already said the same.